How to Burglar-Proof Your Home For Free | Five Easy Tips!

Updated on September 21, 2015

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Thieves in the News

Daily, we see and read news reports of burglaries, sometimes too close to home. What to do? We don’t want to be targets, ourselves, so we must take measures to avoid having our house look like the next place for thieves to try a break-in.

Fortunately, many things can be done that are either very inexpensive, or even free. Of course, part of it starts with where you live. We all know that some parts of town, no matter what town, are best avoided. Sadly, that is not possible for many folks, and it is in those areas, where crime tends to be high, that people also have the least to spend on security equipment.

While the area in which I live is not a bad neighborhood, we are nevertheless on a fixed, low income, and have nothing to spare to buy equipment, so this advice applies not only to those in so-called ‘bad areas,’ but also to many who are retired and living on limited means.

1. Don’t Be Predictable

This is probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest deterrent there is. If you are addicted to strict schedules, and leave for work (or wherever else you go) at precisely the same time every day, and return at the same time, any burglar casing your property knows they can set their watch by your routine, and they know exactly when, and for how long, they have the opportunity to break in.

Instead, vary your routine. Leave at slightly earlier or later times, and if you live near enough to where you work (or volunteer), then sometimes, come home for lunch, or return earlier. Many companies allow flex-schedules for full-time employees, and even trading off days with partners, so this is an option to check with your boss.

Most of the rest of these tips also fall under not being predictable, even though they are more specific than that.

Programmable Automatic Timers

2.Leave Lights On When You are Away

But don’t always leave the same lights on all the time when you are away, especially for an extended period such as a weekend getaway or vacation.

For a pretty small investment, you can get automatic timers that will turn lights on and off throughout the house, and at different times. The newer ones can be programmed with variable on/off times, so it gives a more realistic effect of someone being home. These can even be used when you are at home, to maintain that illusion of being active at different times.

If there is someone you know and trust who is willing to either come by a few times a day, and make the house look lived-in, or even stay at your place, that is an even better option.

In fact, leave some lights on all the time overnight even when you are at home. This, again, makes you unpredictable, and a regularly-on light will not be a clue that you are not home.

3.Don’t Be Too Tidy

One major clue burglars look for is an accumulation of newspapers in the driveway or on the front porch. Even if you subscribe to a newspaper, and bring it in every day to read, most of us still get the “throwaway” freebie papers tossed at our doors.

Don’t be in such a hurry to pick them up every time they arrive. Leave them sit, and accumulate for a while. I’m not talking about leaving them until you have enough for pests to make a nest, but just let the weeklies sit there for a couple of weeks, or three, and then pick them up.

Vary this, as well. Pick them up right away sometimes, and other times, leave them lay. If a burglar checking out the area sees that the papers are often left to lie, even when folks are at home, they will not regard that as a reliable indicator of your absence.

4.Block Your Windows

Of course, when you are not home, it is best to leave your blinds, curtains, drapes, or whatever other window coverings you use, closed. But, also keep them closed sometimes when you are at home.

While it is obvious that your front windows are most at risk for those who wish to get an uninvited peek inside, don’t overlook the rear windows. These are equally important, if not more so, for if a would-be thief gains access to your backyard, he is out of sight of the street, and has plenty of time to snoop around.

Second-story and higher windows are not much of a security risk as entry points,*

If you have windows in your garage, it is best to use frosted glass, or block them with some kind of opaque material, so no one can see inside there, either. Due to the kinds of activity that happen in garages, curtains are not the best idea.

*(To maintain this second-story security advantage, however, be sure never to leave any ladders outside!)

This type of gate offers no climbable footholds | Source

5.Block Easy Access Points

If you have any kind of side-yard entry to your backyard, block it off with a gate, making sure it is not an easily climbed style. Decorative metal gates might as well be ladders, for all the footholds they offer within the design elements for thieves, or even children, to climb.

A plain wooden gate, with no visible hardware on the street-facing side is a good choice, or if you like metal gates, then a plain, tall, wrought iron gate with only vertical bars and no footholds in the middle is a better idea, as is the addition of spiked tops on the bars.

Cyclone fences are easily climbed, and should be avoided. (I’m sure you don’t want your home looking like a prison yard, with cyclone fence topped with barbed or razor wire!)

Do you think security systems are worthwhile?

As For Myself…

I use a wide combination of all these things. First of all, I am “deathly allergic” to schedules, and rarely to anything twice at the same time or in the same sequence. About the only thing ‘on schedule’ in our home are the cats’ meals and my husband’s medications. Everything else happens whenever it happens. I realize this kind of lifestyle may be a challenge for those still working and not retired, but even so, it is possible to make variations.

Lights on or off? Sometimes certain lights are on in the kitchen for hours on end; sometimes, we have no need of that. Every now and then, we get involved in some TV show or movie, and the light from the TV is the only light on in the house--making it look dark from outside. Of course, this can be a problem when we need to get up and use the facilities, and find it’s dark in the hall, and we stumble over a cat. Total darkness is never a good idea.

Outside lights? Yes. The outside ‘coach lights’ on our shop, as well as front and back door porch lights are left on all night long. We turn them off when we get up in the morning. Sometimes. If we don’t forget. And sometimes, depending on how long we sleep; we’re retired. So sometimes those lights are on for 8 hours; sometimes 12 or 24. And sometimes the lights burn out and are not on in one or another location. Sometimes, we don’t realize this for a few days or a week. It doesn’t mean we aren’t home.

Inside lights? The light over the kitchen sink stays on all night long, as a safety feature for ourselves, in case we have to get up in the middle of the night. Yes, we turn it on when we are going to be away, and returning after dark. But it is not noticeable in the daytime, and it's always on after dark, anyway. Since it is an open-plan house, this light shows through to the living room as a dull glow from outside, and if the drapes are shut, you can't really tell. But in any case, it is no indicator as to our presence or absence.

Drapes? Open or closed? The bedroom drapes are always, always closed, because they are a pain in the rear to open. Can’t tell by that. The living room drapes are usually partially open when we are home, but often enough, they are closed, especially if it is hot, and we want to maintain cooling in the house. Or if it is cold, and we want to keep out the gloomy gray of the sky.

The dining room drapes are half-open if we are not home, for the benefit of the cats, as the cat trees are right in front of that window. But they are often also half-open when we are at home, because of annoying reflections at certain times of the day.

And I do leave freebie newspapers sit in the driveway unattended for some time. When we leave, we always close the gate to the backyard. That is, if we are going for more than a few moments. Unless it was an emergency. Unless we forget. Unless we are gone longer than we planned on being gone.

And sometimes we are home all day, and the gate never gets opened at all for several days. You just cannot tell by that.

The mail gets picked up when it gets picked up. Sometimes it’s right after the mailman drops it off; sometimes it gets forgotten until late in the evening. Again, no clue by that as to whether or not we are at home.

And there you have it. Five ways to protect your home without spending a dime--or at least not very much. Of course, if you want to invest in a full-blown security system, be my guest. And if you are technically and mechanically inclined, feel free to rig up gadgets such as a doorbell that triggers the sound of a large dog barking, and getting closer to the door…or whatever else flips your switch. We don’t have the funds for any of that, so we go the free route.

Comments 30 comments

These are good tips, Lizzy. Hopefully, burglars won't read this article!

billybuc 20 months ago from Olympia, WA

All great suggestions, Lizzy. We never go anywhere, and if we did, we have two dogs who consider our home their castle. :)

MizBejabbers 20 months ago

Lizzy, I love your number 3. I've often joked that Mr. B is such a compulsive hoarder that anyone would kill themselves trying to get into our house, especially if they came through the garage. We use the automatic on-off night sentry lights. In fact we introduced them to our neighborhood and six months later every house had them.

The heck of it is, some of the best protective measures such as large dogs are nixed by the insurance companies. After two burglaries at our home in our former neighborhood, we got a chow, and the insurance company went tilt. We finally moved. If a thief trips over a cat in a dark hall and breaks an arm, he can sue. It's almost as if the laws are made to protect the burglar, not the homeowner.

DzyMsLizzy 20 months ago from Oakley, CA Author

@ bravewarrior - LOL! Hopefully not--and even if they do, they will hopefully realize the futility of trying to case certain properties, and move elsewhere; hopefully to a more honest lifestyle. (Well, I can dream, can't I? ;-) )

@billybuc - Thanks much! You are correct--dogs will defend to their last strand of hair what they perceive as their own! Best wishes.

Well, I'm not a hoarder; you can easily walk through the shop and the house. That said, I do have a LOT of family heirlooms, and other kinds of memorabilia, but a good deal of it is packed away in storage boxes, crammed into the closets. It would simply take a burglar far too long to try to go through all those boxes trying to find something worth stealing. And really, most of the items are not worth much more than sentimental value.

As to the other issue you raise, I"m absolutely disgusted at the turn our laws have taken. You're correct; it's as if the laws are meant to protect the crooks and not their victims. I would SO like to see that challenged in a court of law:

Pros. Atty: My client broke his arm in the defendant's home, and believes he is entitled to damages.

Def. Atty: Your honor, the plaintiff does not live at the address in question, nor was he invited, for he does not know the people who live there.

Pros. Atty: If it please the court, I would like to point out that there was a booby-trap in place, in the form of several cats, over whom my client tripped, causing his injury.

Def. Atty: That may be the case, however, it was an incidental issue, and not an actual, booby trap set with malicious intent. Furthermore, since we have already established that the plaintiff does not live at the address, had no reason to be there for any business dealings, but was, in fact, there after breaking in illegally with the intent to commit theft, he was therefore trespassing on private property where he had no business to be. I submit that his injury is his punishment, and move for dismissal of this case.

Judge: As it appears the attorney for the defense has raised a very valid point, my decision is in favor of the defendant. Case dismissed. Plaintiff, you got what you deserved for breaking and entering someone's private home. You are sentenced to 6 months in county jail and a year's parole.

Sunshine625 20 months ago from Orlando, FL

Excellent tips to help keep the cat burglars away! I always keep my front hedges trimmed to below window level...the higher the hedge, the easier it is for a burglar to sneak into your house without the neighbors nabbing him when the home is unoccupied. Just one more tip I thought I would add. Also regarding the clutter, I often walk past neighbors homes and they have a few papers still out front (our neighborhood usually enters their homes via the garage in the back of the house)...anyway I will no longer consider picking up those papers and placing them on their porches out of sight...they could be trying to avoid burglars! :)

DzyMsLizzy 20 months ago from Oakley, CA Author

Hi there, Sunshine!

You are so correct about the hedges! Thanks for adding in that bit.

We don't have hedges out front, but a low picket fence. I do have a pair of bushes that are right in front of my bedroom windows, and they do block the windows.

However, they are planted right up against the foundation of the house, and they are in contact with the house and the window.

Any burglar trying to enter by those windows would make a lot of noise and attract a lot of attention as he tried to get through the bush to get at the window...and all of this activity would be highly visible from the street.

Those tall bushes serve a dual purpose; they are also, in effect, my privacy curtains, as the windows are an oddball size, and I've not been able to find proper curtains that fit. I have old bath towels tacked up. I know: how tacky!

Glad you liked the article..thanks much for your well-thought-out comment.

MsDora 20 months ago from The Caribbean

MsLizzy, you give great suggestions. At first, my eyes widened at at your number 3; but you explained it and it makes good sense. Thank you.

catgypsy 20 months ago from the South

Some great tips Lizzy! We can't be too careful nowadays!

annart 20 months ago from SW England

Great tips here. We try to do some of that. We have grills on the back windows and they are usually closed unless we have some visitors. The front has blinds and they're half-closed during the day as it's easy to look in and through our living area. We also live in a court, so there are neighbours all around looking out for each other; the back is less overlooked so that's where the grills are, as well as pointy metal tops on the garden wall. A canal tow path is next to us so we need extra security.

I think much of it is common sense; as you say, varying a routine should put any 'watchers' off the scent.

Lots of sensible points here, to make us think and prepare.

Ann

DzyMsLizzy 20 months ago from Oakley, CA Author

@ MsDora - LOL Yes--I was in no way trying to imply you should create a weedy mess of unkempt everything; you don't want the place to look abandoned, either. ;) Thanks for stopping by, and I'm glad you found the tips useful.

@ catgypsy - Thanks so very much!

@ annart - We don't have any bars/grills on our windows, but I know many areas do, and for good reason. It's good that the neighbors look out for each other, as well. Community is important. I'm pleased you liked my tips.

MizBejabbers 20 months ago

Lizzy, my agent didn't refuse the insurance, but he made it plain that he didn't like my getting a dog. He said they pay more out for dog bites than they do in theft claims. Easy for him to say because he wasn't the one who got his heirlooms stolen. Loved your court scene, but idiot judges have actually awarded to the plaintiff in burglary cases. That's a fine howdy-doo.

DzyMsLizzy 20 months ago from Oakley, CA Author

Hello again, MizBejabbers!

Well, still, I do think it bears protest. There is far too much of this backwards thinking going on these days, and it needs to be reversed.

When I was growing up, there was no sympathy for a dumb kid getting hurt if they were messing about where they did not belong. Your parents told you it served you right, and you probably got some kind of other punishment on top of the injury!

I don't know what in blazes has happened with the next generation, for I certainly brought up my kids the way I was raised. You don't sue someone for something that was your own fault, that you weren't supposed to be doing in the first place.

The dog bit you? What were you doing on my property? You fell down my stairs while trying to rob me? GOOD! Serves you right.

I'm on what may be a one-person campaign to get the current nonsense reversed!

FlourishAnyway 20 months ago from USA

I really hope they try to come through my garage because a terrible mess is waiting and they'll just give up and realize it's just not worth it.

DzyMsLizzy 20 months ago from Oakley, CA Author

Hi there, FlourishAnyway,

LOL Yes, clutter can be a deterrent, if they think they are going to fall and get hurt, or if they think it will make their task too noisy, and make them get caught!

drbj 20 months ago from south Florida

Thanks for these meaningful tips, m'dear. Owning a watch dog when possible is also good advice. I once owned a home that was robbed and my watch dog did what he was supposed to do. He sat and watched!

DzyMsLizzy 20 months ago from Oakley, CA Author

Hello, drbj!

LOL Great dog story! When my kids were young, we had a dog who would probably have led the burglar right to the family silver, if we'd owned any such thing!

Great advice lizzy, I live upstairs in flat so they have to get in downstairs first! lol! mind you I have a balcony that someone could shimmy up so have to be particularly careful to lock the door at night, the good thing is that we have a neighbor right next door, about two foot away from my front door, so hopefully their dog will grab em! lol!

DzyMsLizzy 19 months ago from Oakley, CA Author

Hi, Nell!

LOL! Hurrah for neighbor's dogs! ;-) I hope no one shimmies up your balcony..maybe if they tried, they'd get splinters where they were not wanted, and teach them a lesson. Haha!

Thanks much; I'm glad you liked the tips!

Suzanne Day 18 months ago from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

If you can get handy neighbours such as stay at home mothers or older people who don't work, this comes in very handy too. I used to leave a hall light on which made it look like someone was home when I went on holidays. One of my best tips on this would be to not tell anyone you're going on a trip...post the photos afterwards on social media if that's your thang!

I like your tip about leaving mail/newspapers occasionally, I've often thought that it's a good thing to do to show that you're pretty sporadic and may/may not be home when people expect.

Voted up, useful, pinned and shared!

DzyMsLizzy 18 months ago from Oakley, CA Author

Hello, Suzanne!

Thanks for sharing the tip about watchful neighbors. That's another good one; the only people you should tell prior to your trip that you won't be around, and also let them know what car your caretaker drives, if you have someone coming in to feed pets, so the cops don't get called on that person! LOL

I totally agree about social media. People who post, "So excited for vacation; counting down the days till xx date..." are asking for it. Ditto people who post en-route photos "Arrived at so-and-so historic site; heading to motel, and tomorrow back on the road," etc... NOT smart!

Thanks very much for the votes, share and pin! Glad you liked the article!

Very useful tips. We follow a few of them but I guess the one thing we need to do is be unpredictable. This is one thing that is almost foolproof.

DzyMsLizzy 18 months ago from Oakley, CA Author

Hi there, rajan jolly,

Thank you very much for the visit. I'm glad you found something new of use to take away.

purl3agony 18 months ago from USA

Thanks for this helpful hub! These plans and details are the things I worry about every time we take a trip. So great to have a complete list of things to do all in one place. Thank you for sharing!!

DzyMsLizzy 18 months ago from Oakley, CA Author

Hello, purl3agony,

Many thanks; I'm delighted that my article was helpful for you, and I hope your next trip can take place with increased peace of mind.

Lee Cloak 18 months ago

Great universal tips and advice, very well done, a really important hub, thanks, voted up, Lee

DzyMsLizzy 18 months ago from Oakley, CA Author

Thanks very much, Lee! I'm glad you found this information useful. Thanks for the vote as well.

Dolores Monet 17 months ago from East Coast, United States

I used to leave the house, used to go to sleep with all the windows open. People said that I was asking to be robbed. Well, the robbers responded. We were asleep when some creep opened an unlocked side window and made off with cash. They didn't even take the credit cards but left my purse laying on the lawn next door. Now, I close and lock the windows every night. Sometimes I think that's like closing the barn door after the horses have gone. Sometimes I think, oh hell, I'm just going to leave them all open like before. Why should I let some creep should change the way I am. (Of course this sounds stupid.) Just glad none of us ran into the punk!

DzyMsLizzy 17 months ago from Oakley, CA Author

Hi, Dolores!

Yes, I suppose that is a bit like the proverbial barn-door closing. I agree it's a good thing none of you ran into that punk--it probably would not have turned out well.

On the flip side, however, it is a myth that lightning never strikes twice in the same place. It is actually more likely to do so, having 'cleared a path' through the air.

In this case, the lightning is the burglar, and if they have friends and any kind of network for sharing easy marks--then you could get hit repeatedly.

Changing your habits to locking up is a good idea. And did you know that here, in California, it is actually illegal to leave your car unlocked? If you do, and it gets stolen with no signs of forced entry, your insurance may not pay up.

Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your experience. I'm glad you liked the article.